Traditional Internet Protocol (IP) multicast is a bandwidth-conserving technology that reduces network traffic by simultaneously delivering a single stream of information to potentially thousands of recipients. Applications of multicast technology include video conferencing, corporate communications, distance learning, distribution of software, stock quotes, and news. Multicast packets are replicated in a multicast fabric at the point where paths diverge by network nodes enabled with protocols that support multicast (e.g., Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM)), resulting in the efficient delivery of data to multiple receivers.